Very little is known about the early life of Bonelli: he was born in Cuneo. He was interested from an early age in the fauna which surrounded him, making collecting trips, preparing specimens and noting his observations.
He became a member of the Reale Società Agraria di Torino in 1807 when he presented his first studies relating to the ColeopteraofPiedmont. The high quality of these studies attracted the interest of the naturalists of his time.
Bonelli took this advice so as to obtain a professor's chair in the new university. In September 1810, he arrived in Paris.
In 1811, Bonelli was finally named professor of zoology at the University of Turin and keeper of the Natural History Museum of Zoology. During his time at the university, he formed one of the largest ornithological collections in Europe.
In 1811, Bonelli wrote a Catalogue of the Birds of Piedmont, in which he described 262 species. In 1815, he discovered the bird Bonelli's warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli), named by Louis Vieillot in 1819. In the same year, he discovered Bonelli's eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus) which was likewise named by Vieillot in 1822.
Bonelli is most notable for his work on birds and on the beetle family Carabidae. Since he was an early worker on Coleoptera many of his genera later became Families, sub families and tribes. Also, many of his genera survive.
Achille Casale and Pier Mauro Giachino "Franco Andrea Bonelli (1784-1830), an Entomologist in Turin at the Beginning of the XIX century", in Proceedings of a Symposium (28 August 1996, Florence, Italy). Phylogeny and Classification of Caraboidea. XX International Congress of Entomology, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali Torino (1998).
